Improvement in bakers  ovens



nicating fire to its surroundings.

UNITED STATES PATENT EEIcE.

CHARLES D. CURTIS, 0E sYRAcUsE, NEW voRK.

IMPROVEMENT IN BAKERS OVENS.

Speciiicationiforming part of Letters Patent No. 181,561, dated August29, 1876; application lled February 4, 1876.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, CHARLES D. CURTIS, of Syracuse, in the State of NewYork, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Bakers Ovens, ofwhich the following, taken in connection with the accompanyin g drawing,is a full, clear, and exactde'scription:

l The object of my invention is to obtain a bakers oven that shalloccupy but very little room in comparison with its capacity, be simpleand cheap in construction, readily heated and regulated, and accomplishthe baking rapidly, uniformly, and completely, with a consumption ofvery little fuel, and also be safe from commu- It consists in theconstruction and combination, with the baking-chamber, of a series ofhorizontal tlues, extending across the entire breadth and length of thebaking-chamber, and connected alternately at opposite ends by Verticalflues, in such a manner as to form one continuous draft or iire ue, witha succession of returns throughout the baking-chamber, and extendingfrom the furnace to the top of the oven, where it is provided with asuitable exit or escape, thehorizontal dues being constructed toconstitute shelves, upon which thebaking is done; also, in thecombination, with the said draft or re fines, of cold-air ues, placed onthe sides of the/furnace, and having communications with thebaking-chamber and draft-flue, as hereinafter described, for the purposeof admitting fresh air into the bakingchamber, and uniformlydistributing the heat.

To enable others skilled in the art to construct and use my invention, Iwill now proceed to describe the same.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure l is an isometric view of theexterior of my improved bakers oven, showing its doors and outsidedampers and registers. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of same, showingthe construction of the draft or re iiues, whereby the shelves areformed upon which the baking `is done, and its connection with thefurnace andexit or escape fines, the arrows indicating the direction ofthe draft. Fig. 3 is a transverse section through .fr .fr of Fig. 2,showing l the. construction of the cold-air tlues, and

their combination with the furnace and baking-chamber, the arrows hereindicating the current of fresh air; and Fig. 4 is a horizon-v talsection through line y y ot' Fig. 2, showing the opening on the sides ofthe shelves for the passage of air and heat.

In constructing this oven, I have found that the rectangular shape isthe most suitable, in order to reduce the width of the tlues, and-obtain Va ready distribution of heat; yet the shape may be so varied asto suit circumstances. llhe main or outside Walls and crown are intendedto be constructed of brick `or stone, laid in mortar,.to render themperfectly tight and compact, and properly stayed by iron rods.

A is the furnace, having the usual grate and ash-pit, and is locatedcentrally at one end of the oven, as shown in Fig. 2. At the back end ofthe grate .it has a bridge-wall, rising about three inches above thegrate, and from thence the lire-flue a slightly ascends toward theopposite end of the baking-chamber, where it intersects the verticalline b, which extends upward to a proper height to make room forthebottom shelf s to be placed bctween the furnace and the horizontal flueo. The latter is connected with the vertical flue b, and at oppositeends with the vertical flue b1, which extends and connects with thehorizontal flue c1. This again intersects a vertical flue, b2, at theopposite end, and is thereby connected with the horizontal flue c2 aboveit, and in this manner the draft or fire ue is continued to the top ofthe oven, forming `thereby a series of flue-shelves throughout thebaking-chamber. In-high ovens the fireflue is tol be continued along`the under side of the crown or cover, for the purposel of l securing agood top heat, and provided with an escape to the chimney. Inordinary-sized ovens an iron pipe may be placed above, andconnccted'with the last horizontal flue, and extended to the chimney.All dues, both horizontal and vertical, from the re-iiue a up, extendacross the entire breadth and length of the baking-chamber, leavingmerely thev openings necessary for the passage of air and heat, ashereinafter described.

The horizontal fluesc c1 c2 are to be a proper distance apart to renderthem available for shelves, upon which the baking is done. They areconstructed of thin fiat tiles e e, with bricks rr between them, laidlengthwise along the longitudinal joints, and are supported by iron barstt, secured in the side walls. By this construction the unpleasantflavor in the bread which is imparted by the, contact with iron isavoided, and the heat retained much longer, and the bars t t'are made toserve the double purpose of supporting the shelves and bracing and tyingthe sides of the oven.

The bottom shelf s, on account of its close proximity to the furnace, issolid and it consists of thick tiles, supported by iron bars at asucient height above the top of the furnace to protect it from tooexcessive heat, and to allow the heat a free circulation.

The furnace A and fire-Hue a are covered with iron plates, so as toprevent the gas and smoke from the fire from entering the bakingchamber,and at the same time freely emit the heat generated in the furnace. i fiare cold-air lues on the sides of the furnace and flue a, havingregisters on the outside of the o ven, whereby the ingress of air can beregulated.

` The air, in its passage along the sides of the furnace, prevents theheat from penetratin g the outside walls, and carries the heat upwardthrough openings o o on alternate sides of the flue-shelves c c1 c2, asindicated by arrows in Fig. 3 of the4 drawing, and uniformly distributesthe same through the baking-chamber. At the top of the bakingchamber itis allowed to escape through a dampelyn, in the ,exit flue or pipe, andar4 ranged to have its egress regulated.

The openings o o on the side of the due-shelf can be extended along theentire length of the baking-chamber, it' desired.

The oven is provided with suitable doors on the side to obtain freeaccess to the baking-chamber, and with a damper in front of the ash-pit,whereby the draft cau be regulated.

When the desired heat is obtained in the baking-chamber, (which, bytheimproved construction and combination of fines herein described, isaccomplished in very short time,) the damper in the asltpit is closedand. all draft cut off. The oven then will retain its l heat-for a longtime.

' After numerous experiments, I found that, in order to prevent thebread from shrinking during the process of baking, and produce a sweet,pure, and healthy bread, it is essential to have a proper supply offresh air at a high temperature, which I obtain through the dues 'i iwithout materially diminishing the production of heat from the furnaceand bottom fire-flue, and utilize that heat, which otherwise wouldpenetrate the outside walls and be liable to communicate fire tosurroundings of the oven. The object in using tile for flue-shelves isto avoid the unpleasant davor in bread which is imparted by the contactwith iron, and also to retain the heat much longer.

It will be observed that by my improve-` ments I accomplish, first, asaving in room,

because I occupy every available part `of of the baking-chamber withbaking-shelves; second, a superior article of `bread by baking ontilerucs, as described, with a uniform top and bottom heat, and by thecirculation of` fresh air 5 third,a saving of fuel, as but very littleheat isallowed to escape into the chimt ney, and the heat maintained byclosing the dampers and retained by the succession of return-fines;fourth, a saving in time of bak-` ing, as the oven is readily heatedthroughi the iron covering of the furnace and bottom fire-flue, and thesuccession of return-dues throughout the baking-chamber; fifth, safetyas'to lire, the heat from the furnace being prevented from penetratingthe outside Walls by cold-air dues on the sides of the furnace.

Having thus fully described my invention,

what I claim as new, and desire to secure by nected at the ends with thealternating ver-` tical liues b b1 b2, and having, respectively, atopposite sides, the openings o 0, and connected with the exit-flue atthetop, and provided with the damper n thereat, the cross-bars t t tyingand bracing the sides of the oven and supporting the-shelves, and thesolid tile'shelf s interposed between the furnace and bottom flue-shelf,having opening o on `one side, all constructed substantially asdescribed and shown, for the purpose set forth.

2. The horizontal tile flue-shelvesc 01 02,0011- structed of two coursesof earthen bakers tiles, with brick between them, laid lengthwise underthe longitudinal joints, arranged one above the other, supported oncross-bars t t, and connected alternately at opposite ends' by the shortvertical flues b b1 b2, and having air-passages o o in opposite sides,respectively, and combined with the furnace A at the bottom of the ovenand the exit-fine at the top, substantially in the manner and for thepurpose described. t

In testimony whereof I have signed my name and affixed my seal in thepresence of two attesting witnesses, at Syracuse, in the county ofOnondaga and State of New York, this 14th day of September, 1875.

CHARLES D. CURTIS. [L. S.]

Witnesses: i i

C. HoLMs'rRUP, Jr., E. BENDEXEN.

